[Mears] add[s] to our understanding African American life in the post-Civil War years. . . . [and] provides a unique view into the small African American settlements in the late nineteenth century. --Cary D. Wintz, Texas Southern University

[Adds] an important study to a rather short list of scholarly works in the field of urban African American history --Thad Sitton

"And Grace Will Lead Me Home is a deeply researched and extensively illustrated analysis of how once-enslaved African Americans built their lives as Freedmen in communities located in and around Austin. This is local history at its best, offering a detailed picture of Freedmen communities in a relatively small Texas city but placing the story in the context of the postbellum South." --Randolph "Mike" Campbell, Regents Professor of History, University of North Texas

Mears's fine-tuned, sensitive approach, coupled with detailed maps, allows us to wend our way into the old communities, meeting residents she dignifies as people rather than imposing the trendy label of 'victims.'" --Jane Manaster

Michelle M. Mears, university archivist at the University of North Texas, has been researching African American history in the Austin area for many years and has published articles on the subject. A native of Austin, Texas, she has held archivist and librarian positions with Scott and White Hospital in Temple, the Texas Historical Commission in Austin, and the Research Medical Library at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.